At the country's top colleges, the most recent application season was the most competitive on record, but for some students, getting accepted was the easy part.
The biggest problem that remains is how they will afford to go.
To that end, The Princeton Review ranked colleges by how much financial aid is awarded and how satisfied students are with their packages. The 2023 report is based on data from its surveys of administrators and students at over 650 colleges in the 2022-23 school year.
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"Students are still weighing their options and financial aid is a huge consideration in that final decision," said Robert Franek, the publication's editor-in-chief.
"Will they have to mortgage out their future to pay for college? These schools are saying 'no, you don't.'"
98% say financial aid is necessary to pay for college
Tuition and fees plus room and board, books and other expenses for a four-year private college averaged $57,570 in the 2022-23 academic year; at four-year, in-state public colleges, it was more than $27,940, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college pricing and student aid.
Most college-bound students and their parents now say affordability and dealing with the debt burden that often goes hand in hand with a college diploma is their top concern, even over getting into their first-choice school, according to The Princeton Review's 2023 College Hopes & Worries survey.
A whopping 98% of families said financial aid would be necessary to pay for college, and 82% said it was "extremely" or "very" necessary, The Princeton Review found.
In fact, though college has been getting more expensive, few students and their parents pay the full amount.
Top 5 private colleges for financial aid
Among the top five schools, the average scholarship grant awarded in 2022-23 to students with need was more than $57,000.
1. Vassar College
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Sticker price: $81,360
Average need-based scholarship: $58,722
Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,638
2. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Sticker price: $79,090
Average need-based scholarship: $62,844
Total out-of-pocket cost: $16,246
3. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Sticker price: $83,880
Average need-based scholarship: $61,067
Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,813
4. Pomona College
Location: Pomona, California
Sticker price: $82,700
Average need-based scholarship: $51,856
Total out-of-pocket cost: $30,844
5. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Sticker price: $68,980
Average need-based scholarship: $54,417
Total out-of-pocket cost: $14,563
Top 5 public colleges for financial aid
Among the five schools on this list, the average scholarship grant awarded in 2022-23 to students with need was roughly $17,000.
1. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Sticker price (in-state): $36,806
Average need-based scholarship: $26,662
Total out-of-pocket cost: $10,144
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Sticker price (in-state): $22,014
Average need-based scholarship: $15,704
Total out-of-pocket cost: $6,310
3. Truman State University
Location: Kirksville, Missouri
Sticker price (in-state): $18,949
Average need-based scholarship: $9,576
Total out-of-pocket cost: $9,373
4. New College of Florida
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Sticker price (in-state): $17,207
Average need-based scholarship: $13,540
Total out-of-pocket cost: $3,667
5. City University of New York — Hunter College
Location: Manhattan, New York City
Sticker price (in-state): $23,447
Average need-based scholarship: $8,892
Total out-of-pocket cost: $14,555
Correction: Student-fee calculations at the University of Virginia, New College of Florida and UNC at Chapel Hill have been updated in the public colleges list.